Today’s {Friday Finds} it totally about the Portland area…. sorry to those who don’t live here! However, bookmark this post in case you plan on visiting soon.

I moved to Portland six years ago. And, while it is much more expensive and has a limited job market compared to my mid-western home, it is one of the most amazing places I’ve ever been. Living in Portland is like living in a big city that has the feel of a small community. We live about an hour from the mountains, an hour and a half from the coast, a few hours from the dessert, and close enough to get away to Canada if things get really rotten. This post may wax a little poetic about this town I’ve grown to call home.

Last night I had the opportunity to tour the kitchen, see a demonstration, and eat dinner at Urban Farmer. Urban Farmer has been on my list of restaurants to visit for some time now. I love their sustainable practices and the fact that they use organic, local food whenever possible. Last night’s experience confirmed it as an awesome dinner destination. I’ll be posting about my visit next week…. but, if you’re looking for a delicious steak dinner PLEASE visit Urban Farmer. You will not be disappointed if you get even a fraction of the experience that I had last night. I even ate beets there…. I am not usually a beet fan! (Although, I once made Beet Pierogies that were fairly tasty.)

After dinner at Urban Farmer you should totally check out the bar upstairs called Departure. It is like walking into a space ship. A space ship that serves good cocktails and has a beautiful patio with a view of the city!

The creative community here is one of the biggest reason’s that I am IN LOVE with this city. There are so many opportunities to build connections, do creative collaborations, or just be inspired by some pretty amazing creative people. If you are in the Portland area check out these awesome groups: Portland Bloggers (gotta plug it), Creative Connection (a women-only group of creatives), Portland Preservation Society (canning group… I can’t wait to be more involved with it), and The Crave Company (women entrepreneur group).

The Timbers (Portland’s MLS team) have started playing. I haven’t been able to get tickets to games yet, but it has been fun listening to updates and seeing my friends post photos from the game. I can’t wait to bring the little guy to a game.

Also,

Spring is near… and, with that the tulips are coming out! Today, Friday, March 8, all Whole Foods Markets are selling 3 10-stem tulip bunches for $10…. that is 30 tulips for $10. If, [cough, cough], someone’s husband thought to grab a bunch after work today then I’m sure it would make his wife extra happy.

And,

Happy International Women’s Day!

* I did receive a free meal from Urban Farmer curtesy of the PR firm, Little Green Pickle, however no promises for positive reviews were given. I really enjoyed it and want to tell everyone I know about it! No other compensation was given for this post. *

Today’s {Friday Finds} is brought to you by the letter R. R as in random. I’ve been trying to incorporate more of my life into this blog to go along with my idea (not original idea by any means) that life is a party and we should celebrate it. So, in that theme of things you’re going to get a peek into my very random brain. I’ve found these links throughout the week and wanted to share!

I love glitter. It is a problem. My husband does NOT love glitter. So, of course when I showed him the above jewelry dish project I could see the fear in his eyes. I think it is a great way to bring just a little bit of sparkle into the everyday. I’d use the project on a tray and put letters and/or pretty magazines in it. I think it’d be just BEAUTIFUL. I wonder if the glaze is hard to work with… anyone out there ever done something similar?

Every wondered what all you could do with the cupcake topper or party circle printables? I love this {Party with Paper} series that Hostess with the Mostess has included on their site! I also really like that they call the printables “Party Circles” as they do so much more than just top cupcakes! “How to cut a party circle {3 ways to use it}“

Now that you know what to do with those party circles why don’t you stop by my “Free Printables” page and see what party circles I have made for FREE download.

Tonight I have some friends coming over for blog talk, beer, and homemade pizza. I’ve been playing around with crust recipes and have been drawn to the following recipes:

And, because I am ready for the weather to be better, I think a grilled pizza would be delish. Good ole Martha has a recipe I’d like to try out sometime soon.

I have lot of fun dressing my toddler in cute clothes. (Check out my Baby Style posts for proof.) He is a stylish young kid… but, lately it takes a ton of effort to make me want to get either of us out of our pjs during the day. One of the Instagramers/bloggers I follow, Lauren Hartmann, did a 7 days of style challenge for her little girl and is now opening it up for others to participate. I thought it would be a good way for me to get the kid out of pjs for a week. One of the challenges is to take three items and style them throughout the week, which is great practice for my upcoming trip to Oklahoma with just me and the babe.

See… RANDOM.

I hope you found a link or two that interests you!

I’m excited for a fun, easy weekend. I hope that you get a chance to create a {Weekend in Review} post for this next week’s linky party! I’ll be sharing some of my favorites from each week.

Looking for a good way to organize each and everyone of the projects you have on your plate?

Right now I have a rotating set of notebooks that I use and I could sure use something else to organize my projects more clearly. I love this free printable and plan to fill a binder with it very shortly!

Source: Perideau Designs

Blog Organization

I found two different and awesome ways to organize the blog. I’m currently trying to decide which will work best for me and my blog or if I need to design some of my own. Check these out:

Adorable…right? The designs were done for My Girl Thursday by draw!Pilgrim and I think they are just beautiful. I’d want to sit down and plan things out for the blog if it all was in a neat little package like this!

Okay, I’m all about lists and calendars so this simple, but cute, printable fits my organizational style perfectly. Amy Bayliss provides them for her readers for free! She also has a great Personal Assistant sheet that includes editable lists for weekly routines, daily routines and the weekly menu.

I hope to have a few of these in use by the end of the week!

Other Organizational “Finds” You Might Like:

I don’t need this quite yet, but will totally make use of it fairly soon… A Baby Sit Kit Printable! These are not free, but they are inexpensive. And, the coolest part!?! Have a kid that is a babysitter or wants to begin babysitting? The kit comes with fabulous resources for a baby sitter to begin a really organized and reputable little business! Oh, and currently Infarrantly Creative is giving away 5 free printable copies. I’m not sure how long the giveaway lasts so enter now!

Well, every Friday, Lauren posts a list of blanks for people to fill in on their own blogs and link up to her site. I love it. I love clicking through to see what other people have answered as well. But, because I have always tried to have a {Friday Finds} post on Fridays I have never linked up my own Fill in the Blank Friday. But, this week I thought… why not do both? So, there you have it. Check back later today for the {Friday Finds} of this week and please enjoy my version of Fill in the Blank Friday…

1. My favorite color is purple. I would say grey because that is the majority of my closet and a color I always gravitate to…but, that is Lauren’s favorite and I didn’t want to copy on the very first question! I do however really love the color purple. You might have noticed in the blog’s design!

2. My travel destination of choice is anywhere I haven’t yet been. I love going to new places. I wish I could travel more… most of my travel consists of going back home to see family (which I of course love doing) but, sometimes I wish I could go see family in new and awesome destinations. Hey, family out there… what do you say?

3. My favorite food is bread. Any kind of bread really… I like them all. It is a dangerous love, my love of bread.

4. My happy place is cuddled up against my husband’s chest. Sounds super sappy… but, for a non-hugger like me it is quite amazing that this is the one place I can always go to feel happy and calm. Although, my new nursery is also becoming quite the happy place… sometimes I just walk in and stand for a moment.

5. My favorite saying is… this one stumps me a bit. But, here are a couple of my favorites that I’ve been seeing on Pinterest and that I just had to “pin.”

— “Done is better than Perfect” — “You’re my Favorite Reason to Lose Sleep” —”My life has a superb cast but I can’t figure out the plot” — “I have so much to do that I am going to bed!”

6. My dirty little secret isthat while I am a BIG control freak and GREAT at organizing my room is a DISASTER area. We just shut the door… Oh, and while I am at it I’ll add on another “dirty” little secret: We often throw parties and invite people over just to motivate us to clean our house. I’m hoping that this is not a habit I bring into motherhood!

7. Something friends might say about me is that I am a planner (sometimes to a fault). I am also kind (sometimes to a fault). I’m also quite hard on myself. And, I have an annoying southern accent at times. Of course… my friends are kinder to me than I am to myself.